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First Edition Cycling News for October 11, 2007

Landis continues fight, appeals to CAS

Floyd Landis, the now
dethroned 2006 Tour de France champion, announced Wednesday that he
will appeal the decision
of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) which refused to overturn
the sanction for his positive
drug test from the Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour to the Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. This appeal is the final chance for Landis
to have his sanction overturned.

"Knowing that the accusations against me are simply wrong, and having
risked all my energy and resources – including those of my family, friends
and supporters – to show clearly that I won the 2006 Tour de France fair
and square, I will continue to fight for what I know is right," Landis
said in a statement posted on the Floyd Fairness Fund web site.

Landis' hopes rest in what the lone dissenting arbitrator, Christopher
Campbell, said in his opinion were critical flaws of the LNDD laboratory.
The other two arbitrators Patrice Brunet and Richard McLaren agreed that
there were problems with the testing, even finding in favour of Landis
regarding the charge of an elevated T/E ratio. However Brunet and McLaren
agreed that the presence of exogenous testosterone in the samples was
enough to side with USADA, despite the admitted problems with the laboratory.

"My hope is that the CAS panel will review my case on the basis of the
facts and the science, and to approach my appeal from the principle that
the anti-doping authorities must uphold the highest levels of appropriate
process, technical skill, science and professional standards to pronounce
judgment on matters that hold an athlete’s career, accomplishments and
livelihood in the balance," the statement said.

"Doping in sport seems to continue to get worse under the current anti-doping
system, and this is only a part of the huge amount of proof that the WADA/USADA
system needs a total overhaul," the statement continued. "I will continue
to work to clear my name and fight for change in the name of fairness
and justice. No matter the final outcome of my case, there must be change
in the current system if athletes can ever hope to compete on a level
playing field and return to the joy and inspiration that sport can bring
all of us."

"We are pleased to announce that Floyd will appeal his case before the
Court of Arbitration of Sport," Landis' attorney Maurice Suh of the firm
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said in a statement. "We have always believed
in the evidence showing that the French laboratory's flawed techniques
and conclusions resulted in a false positive result. This appeal is directed
at having a fair-minded arbitration panel recognize those errors, and
apply the facts and law to this case. If this is done, Floyd will have
the justice that he seeks."

The decision by Landis to appeal the AAA decision to the CAS came with
less than 24 hours before the filing deadline. The statement from Suh
said that the appeal was filed in conjunction with lawyers in Switzerland,
who will join Floyd's legal team, as the hearing is likely to take place
at the CAS in Switzerland.

T-Mobile reviews its season

T-Mobile Team went into the 2007 season with lowered expectations, and
can now look back on a more than satisfactory season with 35 wins from
the men's team and 31 by the women. "We more than fulfilled our expectations,"
said Sport Director Rolf Aldag.

"It was our goal to be competitive over the whole season and not
to work towards just a few season highlights," he said on the team's
website, t-mobile-team.com. Things got off to a slow start, but
then things went "very, very well."

"Whether it was Mark Cavendish, Gerald Ciolek, or Kim Kirchen, who
rode the whole season at a very high level  the team showed what
it was capable of. And there is a lot more potential there, I am convinced
of that," Aldag said.

The team's season was dominated by the sprinters. Bernhard Eisel opened
the season with a stage
win in the Volta ao Algarve and Cavendish closed it with a stage
win in the Circuit Franco-Belge. The young Manxman alone accounted
for 11 victories. Fellow sprinter Gerald Ciolek won eight races over the
season.

Another early  and unexpected  success was Marcus
Burghardt's win in Gent-Wevelgem, which established him as a contender
in the Spring Classics.

The team was no longer solely focused on the Tour de France or Grand
Tours, but managed to do well in all three this year. Marco Pinotti wore
the leader's pink jersey for several days in the Giro d'Italia. Linus
Gerdemann won a stage
in the Tour de France and took the leader's jersey for a day, and Kirchen
finished seventh overall. The team also won two stage in the Vuelta a
España, with Bert Grabsch winning the first
time trial and Andreas Klier taking a stage
win.

There were some low points for the team, too. Serguei Honchar was released
after his "questionable blood test
results" were found to have violated the team's internal code
of conduct. That same Code of Conduct led to the release of Lorenzo Bernucci,
who tested positive
for an appetite depressant during the Deutschland Tour.

The hardest blow for the team was Patrik Sinkewitz' positive
test for testosterone during the Tour de France. He was
fired and ultimately confessed.

The team will have a different face in the coming season, with 10 new
riders. It loses such veterans as Giuseppe Guerini and Axel Merckx to retirement.
New riders include George Hincapie, Bradley Wiggins and youngster Edvald
Boassan Hagen.

Vandenbroucke signs with Belgian Continental team

Frank Vandenbroucke is getting yet another chance in cycling. It was
announced Wednesday that he has signed a one year contract with Mitsubishi-MKG,
the former Jartazi Continental Team. It is the 32 year-old's tenth team
since he turned pro in 1994.

The troubled Belgian rider has a history of problems, with the most
recent being a suicide
attempt this summer. According to hln.be, he only decided Tuesday
evening to sign. "I am satisfied that I will do well on a Belgian
team. This was definitely the best solution for me, and I thought about
it a long time."

"I have a chaotic year behind me," he noted. "Since then
I have been living in Belgium. I am starting to thrive again. "

Team manager Patrick Stallaert said, "It is our philosophy to give
riders a second chance. So why not give a chance to a great rider like
Frank Vandenbroucke? I believe in him 200 percent." Stallaert added,
"VDB has a contract with a bonus system. If he does well, he earns
more."

The team sport director is Jef Braeckevelt, who worked with the rider
in the early 1990s at Team Lotto. "The ball is now in Frank's court.
He must now try to reach the level of cycling we expect. Nobody can tell
Frank anything. He has too much brio and experience for that. It is now
up to him to seize this chance with both hands" he told Sporza.

Vandenbroucke turned pro in 1994 with Lotto. He then rode for Mapei
for four years, his longest stretch with one team, before riding for Cofidis,
Lampre, Domo-Farm Frites, Quick.Step-Davitamon, Fassa Bortolo, Mr. Bookmaker,
Unibet.com, and Acqua Sapone, sometimes changing teams mid-season.

Adidas uncertain over its future in cycling

Adidas announced in August that it will
continue its sponsoring contract with T-Mobile Team through 2008,
but its Chairman, Herbert Hainer, has said that it seems unlikely the
firm will stay on with cycling after that. "Right now I can't imagine
that," he told faz.net. "First we have to see success
in the fight against doping and the clear will of everyone involved to
deal with the situation. Then an extension might be possible."

The sporting goods firm is one of the major sponsors of T-Mobile. Hainer
said that he decided to honour the contract with the team through next
season because "The team management's concept in the fight against
doping convinced us and we want to do our part to make cycling a clean
sport."

The recent World Championships in Stuttgart did not help. "Stuttgart
was hardly a good sign. The way all the different decision-makers there
all stumbled around, that hurt cycling. The international and national
federations must work together with the politicians to make more decisions
showing the right way than they already have. A clear direction is missing."

Hainer does not necessarily think the sponsorship hurts the company's
image. "When T-Mobile's concept is effective, then that would be
positive for us because then we would have helped to fight doping. If
that is not the case, then we will end our engagement. We can leave immediately
if there are more doping cases.

Tinkoff happy with Monte Paschi Eroica

Team Tinkoff Credit Systems was happy with the eighth place finish of
Spanish rider Ricardo Serrano in the inaugural Monte
Paschi Eroica on Wednesday and had nothing but praise for RCS Sports,
who organized the event. Serrano made the initial 11-man major break of
the day. The race was won by Russian Alexandr Kolobnev (Team CSC), who
showed his worlds form was still in tact.

"I must confess that it has been a beautiful initiative, perfect
in its kind," said team manager Oleg Tinkov of the difficult and
unique race. The race featured seven sections of le strade bianche
or white gravel roads, for a total of 60 of 180 kilometers. The conditions
and dust from the roads, along with some steep grades, made for some rather
technical racing.

Swedish riders get on track

With no track facilities and very little history in this side of the
sport, getting a track programme started in Sweden means riders living
or traveling to other countries to get track time. But both Magnus Backstedt
(Liquigas) and Freddy Johansson (Plowman Craven) have raced for Sweden
at World Cup level.

With Backstedt now looking to qualify for the Olympics on the boards,
the interest among Sweden's elite riders is growing - enough so that Johan
Landstrom and Mattias Westling (Cykelcity) and Mikael and Christoffer
Stevensson (Amore Vita) joined him for a track training camp at the Newport
Velodrome in South Wales last week.

The riders spent three intense days of up to five hours at a time on
the track. By the end of it they looked like they had been riding the
track for years. Each rider put down test rides over 200m, 500m, 1km and
4km, as well as various lab tests with high performance coach Steve Benton
to ascertain the best route for them to take in terms of events.

Backstedt will fly solo at the first two World Cup events in Sydney and
Beijing in an attempt to qualify for the Olympics in 2008. "I'm excited
to see now where we can take this programme; these guys took on an amazing
amount of information very quickly and how comfortable they looked after
only three days  showed their class. My own personal goal this winter
is to get back on the track and secure a spot for the pursuit in Beijing."

"In terms of the programme we need results in order to secure the
level of funding needed or external sponsors," said Team manager
Martin McCrossan who was considering logistics for the Swedish track hopefuls.
"Now we have a great group of talented riders to start from which
is a great position to be in. Track cycling would be a perfect sport for
Sweden and hopefully we can generate enough interest to build a velodrome
and bring a new nation into this side of the sport."

Johansson, who has recovered well from a knee operation, will return
to world competition in January. Others may get introduced to world-class
track racing by the Copenhagen round in February. By the 2012 Olympic
Games in London, Sweden is aiming to have a squad of riders capable of
challenging for medals.

Mori returns to peloton

The Coppa Sabatini will mark an important comeback for Lampre-Fondital's
Massimiliano Mori two and a half months after an accident in which he
suffered a broken pelvis. In late July, Mori hit
a car while out training on roads near his home in Tuscany. He also
suffered head wounds and a light concussion.

"It's a great joy being able to take part in a race in this season,"
said Mori. "I thought it was impossible; when I was in hospital and
I was told my pelvis was broken, I thought my season was already ended.
However, my recovery was faster than usual and I could stand up from bed
after 20 days. I began to train in swimming pool and then, one month after,
I began to pedal.

"My will to come back to races was enormous and I was helped by
the support received by my team-mates and my friends. On Thursday I finally
will be in the peloton. I hope I can be useful to the team, even if my
fitness is not at the top. After Sabatini I will take part in Emilia and
Beghelli, and then in Japan for Japan Cup".

Novoa to debut with CSC

Joaquin Novoa will make his debut as stagiaire with Team CSC at the Coppa
Sabatini at the Stadio Comunale in Peccioli. Novoa comes in under the
recommendation of compatriot Carlos Sastre has
been preparing for the upcoming Italian races.

"I'm honored to be given this opportunity and I'm highly motivated
to work extremely hard for the team," said the Novoa according to
team-csc.com.

"He's a big guy, who's both good on the climbs and at the front
of the peloton during a flat stretch," said Sastre, who noticed the
promising Novoa while at home in Spain. "He's one of the best amateurs
in Spain, which he proved by taking 30 top-10 spots last year and 41 this
year, so I think he's got the right skills to become a great pro rider."

The two have trained together during the last two years on a regular
basis, but the Italian races will likely be an eye-opening experience
for the stagiaire.

"He knows he'll have to work really hard and these races will enable
us to check him out a bit and see, what he's made off. It'll be exciting
and I'm very confident on his behalf," said Sastre.

Astana sets plans for final three races of the season

Astana is wrapping up its season with three more races. Two will be in
Italy this weekend including the Giro dell'Emilia on October
13 and the GP Beghelli on October 14 in Monteveglio. The team will head
there after the Coppa Sabatini, thereby giving Gregory Rast, Michael Schär,
Maxim Iglinsky, Andrey Mizourov and Serguei Yakovlev a final chance to
showcase their skills before the end of the season.

For the final race, Astana will head down under for the Jayco Herald
Sun Tour from October 14 to 21. Seven riders will contest eight stages
among which a prologue, a time-trial and a final stage for sprinters in
the streets of Melbourne, are waiting for the 14 invited teams. Aaron Kemps, the sole Australian Astana rider, will be at the start. He will
be there with Koen De Kort and René Haselbacher, who both will
try for good results in the sprints, whereas the Swiss Thomas Frei and
Steve Morabito will aim instead at the undulating stages

Milram & LPR announce rosters for Coppa Sabatini

Alessandro Petacchi will lead Team Milram at the 55th Coppa Sabatini
Thursday. The nearly 200km race starts in Peccioli and finishes in Tuscany
while covering two circuits.

After a fifth place at the Monte Paschi Eroica earlier this week, Team
LPR will return tot he limestone roads of Tuscany. The team plans to take
an aggressive approach to the race and will be led by recently crowned
World Champion Paolo Bettini.

USA Cycling to host mechanics' clinic

USA Cycling announced the 2008 Bill Woodul Race Mechanic Clinic for January
10-13 at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The camp is geared toward all mechanics who wish to become USA Cycling-licensed
mechanics

Woodul held the first such mechanics' clinic in the late 1980s as a way
to recruit mechanics for his program. Past graduates of the clinic have
gone on to work for teams all over the world. Participants will learn
from industry instructors, receive hands-on experience and network with
other mechanics. Upon completion, they will be eligible to purchase a
mechanic's license from the federation, which will make them eligible
to work Olympic Trials, national championships, USA Cycling training camps
and some corporate neutral support positions. Topics include caravan and
motorcycle support, pit set up, race equipment preparation, bike wash
techniques, as well as tool, equipment, and supply needs. Information
taught will support track, road, mountain bike and 'cross disciplines.

The clinic is open to US citizens with at least two years of experience
as a bicycle mechanic. For more information, contact Justin Koch at (719)
866-4708 or visit www.usacycling.com. Registration is due by November
16.

In spite of rain and cold temperatures, Bikes for Kids Utah secured the
funds and volunteers needed to distribute free brand new bicycles, helmets,
bike locks and bicycle safety instruction to 1,000 underprivileged Utah
second graders last weekend in a fund-raising event held on October 5-6
which included a silent auction and 3km and 50km rides with pro Dave Zabriskie,
a Salt Lake City native and the third American ever to wear the yellow
jersey in the Tour de France.

"Seeing a smile on the face of one child while receiving a bike
was enough," said Debbie Reid, executive director of Bikes for Kids
Utah. "Seeing hundreds of smiling faces made it even better."

Throughout the event, hundreds of Utah second-graders were greeted by
more than 60 volunteers and sponsors who distributed bikes and accessories.
Volunteers also led students through a bicycle safety fair. Students were
fitted for helmets and other accessories.

"Cycling has been a huge part of my life," said Dave Zabriskie,
Salt Lake native and Tour de France stage winner. "It has provided
me with a lot of freedom and taught me that exercise, discipline and responsibility
can be fun. It felt good helping the kids get their new bicycles and I
hope they have as much fun with their bikes as I do with mine."

A fundraiser dinner and silent auction raised more than US$11,000 through
dinner tickets and donated auction items. A time trial also raised money
for Yield to Life, a non-profit organization founded this year by Zabriskie
to help educate automobile drivers and cyclist on how to safely share
the road.

In an effort to enjoy better weather for the event and ensure the children
more riding time on their new bikes, next year's Bikes for Kids Utah events
are tentatively scheduled for summer 2008.